Abstract
Water-lubricated bearings usually operate under severe environmental conditions, most likely in the mixed regime, in which surface contact between the drive shaft and the bearing sleeve is often significant. This presents great challenges to bearing design, especially material selection. The Tenmat, Thordon, and Rubber are common water-lubricated bearing composites. In this paper, by using a block-on-ring test apparatus, the Stribeck curve, wear rate, and vibration characteristics of three kinds of polymer materials in water-lubricated bearings (Tenmat, Thordon SXL, and Ben Teng Group (BTG) Rubber) under low speed and heavy load were studied. The experimental results show that, under the same working conditions, BTG rubber has excellent tribological properties and vibration properties. The research method in this paper can provide references for the selection of materials used for friction pair, improvement of working performance and vibration reduction of water-lubricated bearings in the future.
Highlights
Water-lubricated bearings are non-metallic bearings with water lubrication, giving them good lubrication performance and environmental friendliness
Because of the depletion of natural resources, these materials have gradually been replaced by polymer composites with some excellent performances such as a low friction coefficient and good wear resistance [3,4,5,6]
It is necessary to screen out suitable materials and working conditions for water-lubricated bearings to reduce friction, wear, and vibration
Summary
Water-lubricated bearings are non-metallic bearings with water lubrication, giving them good lubrication performance and environmental friendliness. Thordon, and Rubber are common water-lubricated bearing composites [11]. These three new types of water-lubricated bearing materials exhibit outstanding performance in a variety of environments, including marine and industrial environments. Under extreme conditions such as heavy load, low speed, start-up, and shut-down, water-lubricated bearings are prone to generate friction wear and vibration noise. Wu et al [12] and Zhao et al [13] researched the tribological properties and wear mechanism of styrene–butadiene rubber and the polyurethane composites with dry sliding and water lubrication. It is necessary to screen out suitable materials and working conditions for water-lubricated bearings to reduce friction, wear, and vibration. The experimental method provides technical support for the development of new materials for water-lubricated bearings
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
